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The Arrival Center

A Vérité Documentary Film
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Synopsis

The former Roosevelt Hotel is the first landing place for thousands of asylum-seeking families arriving in New York. The city-run intake center is known as the "new Ellis Island".

After President Trump is elected on an anti-immigrant platform, a new era of uncertainty begins — for asylum-seekers, longtime immigrants, and New York — the country's largest sanctuary city.

"New York City is, and always will be, a city of immigrants."
— Public Advocate Jumaane Williams
"This issue will destroy New York City."
— NYC Mayor Eric Adams
Synopsis
An Immersive Vérité Film

THE ARRIVAL CENTER is an immersive vérité film told from the epicenter of New York's migrant crisis — the Roosevelt Hotel. It is a glimpse into the lives of newly arriving asylum seekers and some of the many workers at the site. We are with them as they register for housing, wrestle with translation software, ask questions, and get children vaccinated and enrolled in school.

The social workers, health workers, case managers, operations staff, and city officials on site are a cross-section of New York. Many are immigrants or children of immigrants. For some, the work is a mission; for others, an exhausting day job.

After the 2024 election, the new administration promises a crackdown on immigration and sanctuary cities. As a symbol of welcome and safety, The Roosevelt Arrival Center could be a target.

The humanitarian crisis of managing arrivals is overshadowed by a political crisis. Migrant families from the Roosevelt navigate the uncertainty and wrestle with their beliefs in the American dream.

Background
New York's Migrant Crisis

New York City's migrant crisis began in the spring of 2022. The number of people crossing the southern border and asking for asylum was high. The Governor of Texas began busing new arrivals to northern cities.

For decades, New York has recognized a right-to-shelter. The city will provide a shelter bed to anyone who asks. It is the only city in the U.S. with this requirement.

Already struggling with a housing crisis and a strained shelter system, New York needed an emergency response. Two hundred temporary sites were opened — including tent camps and leased hotels.

"60% of New Yorkers are immigrants or the children of immigrants."
— Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs

The former Roosevelt Hotel in midtown is the hub of the city's emergency response. It's where new arrivals are connected to city services. A century after the once-luxury hotel opened its doors, the Covid-19 pandemic shut it down in 2020. Now, it's all faded grandeur and waiting room chairs.

New York leased the 19-story building and re-opened it as the 24/7 Asylum-Seeker Arrival Center in May of 2023. The 1,100 rooms are now used as a family shelter.

Location
The Roosevelt Hotel
The Filmmakers Team
Nicole Salazar
Nicole Salazar
Co-director, Producer & Sound
Nicole Salazar is an award-winning filmmaker and journalist based in New York. She is a Creator, Producer, and Co-Director of the critically acclaimed docuseries PHILLY D.A. (PBS/Independent Lens/Topic, 2021), which received a Peabody Award, a Gotham Award for Breakthrough Nonfiction Series, a du-Pont Columbia Journalism award, and the Sundance Institute / Amazon Studios Nonfiction Producers Award. Previously she worked as a Video Journalist at the New York Times and as a Producer/Director on FAULT LINES for Al Jazeera English.
Gregory Purpura
Gregory Purpura
Co-director, Producer & Cinematographer
Gregory Purpura is a documentary cinematographer and producer specializing in immersive, handheld vérité filmmaking. He has covered the front lines of the American political system for Showtime's Emmy-award winning series The Circus, and intimate storytelling about emergency medicine in Emergency: NYC for Netflix. Other projects include Free Meek for Amazon Prime and Best Shot for YouTube Originals/ESPN.
Stephen Yang
Stephen Yang
Producer, Additional Camera & Still Photographer
Stephen Yang is a photojournalist based in New York. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, Der Spiegel, Reuters, and Getty Images, syndicated through Redux Pictures. A native New Yorker, Stephen has been on the front lines of almost every major breaking story in New York City over the last decade.